Service Menu

The Mega-Cart uses a special service/maintenance menu where you may perform special activities or set particular options. In order to enter this menu you need to hold down the CTRL key when you turn on or reset the Vic-20.

This menu allows you to backup, restore or clear your Mega-Cart preferences, choose background menu music and set the “quick” or “standard” menu navigation mode. The Mega-Cart checks for an external disk-drive on device numbers 8 to 15 (in this sequence) in order to load a preferences file or save a backup.

The Preferences file contains such settings as your favorite items, custom Early Startup menu items, filters (Categories, Publisher, System, etc) plus other things. This information is automatically stored in the Mega-Cart’s non-volatile RAM and retained even when the Vic-20 computer is powered off (for up to 100 years). Because preference settings are unique to each user, and because in some rare cases a program may also overwrite this information, a periodic backup is recommended.

Option

Information

RESET PREFS

Clear preferences and restore default factory settings

SAVE PREFS

Backup preferences to the disk-drive (first drive on device channels 8 to 15)

READ PREFS

Restore preferences from the disk-drive (first drive on device channels 8 to 15)

CHOOSE MUSIC

Open the Menu Music selector screen to select the menu music

QUICK MODE
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STANDARD MODE

Activate the Quick or Standard menu navigation Mode.

The Quick Mode starts a game/utility immediately after its selection (no title information/options screen is shown). For utilities the default Vic-20 memory configuration will be used.

The Standard Mode opens an additional information screen & menu after an item is selected. This screen gives you some information about the software title selected (controllers required, video format, etc.). In this screen you may start the item or add/delete it to/from the Early Startup menu. For utilities this screen also allows to you select a Vic-20 memory configuration.

EXTERNAL BOOT*
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INTERNAL BOOT*

By using the Internal boot, the Mega-Cart starts with the integrated Menu navigation while by using the External boot, the Mega-Cart will search a program called "MC-BOOT" from drive #8 to drive #15 and if detected, loads and run it otherwise it uses the integrated Menu navigation.

The external boot program "MC-BOOT" must be a program for VIC+8K or plus that starts with RUN, it will be loaded by activating SJLOAD on RAM0 area (3K RAM expansion) that could be used by the program itself too.

EXIT

Exit from this menu and go to the Early Startup menu or to the locked menu you've previously set.